September 26, University of Twente signed a Letter of Intent for joining Space53, the first national testing ground for drones and unmanned systems at the former Twente Airbase.
Together with other knowledge institutions in the Twente region, Saxion and ‘ROC van Twente’, University of Twente joins Space53, for research, teaching and business. Nokia is the new industrial partner in this.
Space53 will start testing drones and unmanned systems at the former Twente airbase as well as at several other locations like UT campus labs. Victor van der Chijs, UT President sees several opportunities for the new initiative: “We can help finding innovative solutions involving safety and security of drones: the technology, governance and behavioral aspects. Our facilities like the DesignLab and our wind tunnel are open for this.”
Drones in education and research
While UT is planning to develop a drones teaching track, ROC van Twente plans to start drone pilot trainings. In UT’s robot research, drone development already plays an important role. In the European Sherpa project, for example, robots and drones are developed for assisting in rescue operations in the mountains. Spinoff company Clear Flight Solution aims at developing robot falcons for scaring off geese at airport runways. Nico Nijenhuis, the founder of this company, is co-founder of Space53 as well.
Traffic management
Within Space53, Nokia will test and develop an intelligent traffic management system called UT, Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management. “For securing safety, we don’t just need smart drones, but an intelligent traffic management system as well. At this moment, we are the only telecom company active in this field. Space53 offers us the right environment and facilities for testing and perfecting UTM, together with our knowledge partners”, says Thorsten Robrecht, Nokia’s VP Advanced Mobile Networks Solutions.
According to the Mayor of Enschede, Onno van Veldhuizen, Space53 is a concept that will attract future world players: “Test centres are indispensable for the growth of the unmanned systems sector. Not only in The Netherlands, but worldwide.”
Technology Base Twente
Professional parties from all over the world can contact Space53 via www.space53.nl for testing their solution or seeking cooperation with the other partners. At this online ‘one stop shop’, all necessary steps will be taken to set things in motion. Cooperation with Nokia is one of the first international steps for testing and developing fully new systems at a controlled, closed site. The Space53 launch also contributes to the successful development of Technology Base Twente, a business area for innovative manufacturing industries located at the former airbase.
During the launch, eight demos showed state of the art drones and other unmanned systems. Over 300 invited people saw, amongst others, an example of ‘swarming’: drones flying together and cooperating in a controlled way, for solving complex safety issues. Nokia demonstrated its UTM system, in a setting in which multiple drones joined forces during a disaster scenario and exchanged information, without safety risks.
